While the war over the legality of corner-crossing might be over at the federal level, the battle at the Wyoming state level might just be getting started.
House Bill 19 is set to go before the Wyoming Legislature after it convenes on Feb. 9. It calls for the legality of corner-crossing to be written into state statute.
That would firmly settle what hunters and others have argued for years, that crossing the adjoining corners of two parcels of public land in a checkerboard pattern with private property can’t be considered trespassing.
It would be a victory for public land access in Wyoming, Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, told Cowboy State Daily.
She’s been an outspoken advocate for corner-crossing. And she sits on the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources committee, which sponsored HB 19.
However, Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said the bill as it’s written is too broad and vague, so it might not gain traction on the Wyoming House floor.
“It almost isn’t a serious piece of legislation,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
“It lacks all of the nuances that are critical to a meaningful piece of legislation,” he said.
SCOTUS Refused To Hear Case
Across Wyoming and the West, there are places where square parcels of public and private land are interlocked in what many describe as “checkerboards.”
Corner-crossing entails passing over the pinpoint where two corners of public land meet.
It’s long been controversial. Hunters and other advocates for the practice argue that it’s the only way to reach many sections of public land.
Opponents say there’s no way of doing it without setting foot on private property or at least passing through the airspace above private property.
And that can lead to abuses, such as damage to private property, and even drive down the value of private property in checkerboard areas, opponents argue.
The matter was put to the test in 2021, when four out-of-state elk hunters used a ladder-like device to clamber over a corner crossing between two parcels of federal land in Carbon County.
The parcels were adjacent to ranchland owned by Fred Eshelman and his Iron Bar Holdings LLC company.
Eshelman and Iron Bar first tried having the hunters charged with criminal trespass, but a jury acquitted them.
Iron Bar and Eshelman took their case into civil courts, all the way up to the federal 10th Circuit Court, just one level below the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
When the 10th Circuit Court ruled in the hunters’ favor, the landowners petitioned for a hearing before SCOTUS. However, the high court declined to hear the case, effectively upholding the 10th Circuit Court’s decision.
Many considered that to be a de facto declaration that corner crossing is legal.
Still Need It In Writing
However, that’s not good enough, Provenza said.
Wyomingites, particularly law enforcement officers need it in writing, in state statute.
“Law enforcement doesn’t read 10th Circuit Court law, they read or green books (Wyoming statutes),” she said.
Passing HB 19 would also send a clear message of support to Wyoming public land hunters, she added.
“The hunters that went to elk mountain (in Carbon County), they were bold in doing so. And it’s time for legislators to be bold in supporting our sportsmen,” she said.
Travel Committee Chairman Rep. Andrew Byron, R-Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily that after the federal decision on corner crossing, Wyoming law officers approached legislators, asking for “clarity” on the legality of corner crossing here.
Judging by public comment so far, the bill has broad support, he said.
“We had really positive feedback, both in person and electronically,” he said.
Even if HB 19 passes, the onus will still be on hunters and other outdoors enthusiasts to cross corners responsibly, Byron said.
“Ultimately, it’s going to be back to the sportsmen and the recreators to do this responsibly and according to the law,” he said.
The next step is for the bill to pass an introductory vote, to make it to the House floor, he said.
Bill Goes Too Far
Magagna said that from a landowner’s point of view, HB 19 raises concerns.
“It goes well beyond the 10th Circuit Court ruling. That ruling applied only to federal land,” he said.
Whereas HB 19 names “land owned by a local government, the state of Wyoming or the federal government,” according to the bill’s text.
By Wyoming statute, public access to state trust land is technically considered a “privilege,” not a right, Magagna said. And that raises the question of whether state land can be included in the bill.
Moreover, the bill doesn’t specify how far a hunter would have to be from the exact pinpoint where public land corners meet in order to be considered not trespassing.
Maps or GPS navigating devices might not be that precise, he said.
“Would I be trespassing if I was a foot off the pinpoint, or ten feet away? What would that distance be?” he said.
The bill states that corners must be crossed “without causing damage to any privately owned land” adjacent to the public parcels.
But it doesn’t specify what “damage” means, or at what point a landowner could lodge a complaint about damage being done to their property from corner-crossing, Magagna said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
